Tuesday, October 5, 2021

Reflection - Number Our Days - Things I Do Not Know

Source (book): "Teach Us to Number Our Days", Chapter 32, "Things I Do Not Know", Page 153.
By David Roper, Pastor, and regular and popular writer for Our Daily Bread.


Satan has the intention of detaining us with
PHOTO: Satan has the intention of detaining us with
unnecessary things and thus keeping us from those
that are necessary. Once he has gained an opening
in you of a handbreadth, he will force in his whole
body together with sacks full of useless questions.
- Martin Luther, Instruction from
The Saints to The Church in Erfurt (1522)

I was looking at some of the clever, wonderful unused books on my library shelves the other day and thinking back to a time when, as a much younger man, I envisioned myself spending twenty years or so of my life ramping up my theological knowledge, and then another twenty getting that knowledge organised. The demonstrable, the provable, the definable loomed large in my mind.

As I've gotten older, however, I've learned to be more comfortable with what I don't know and will never know until I get to heaven. Like Israel's poet, I no longer "concern myself with . . . things too wonderful for me." (Psalm 131:1) I find myself more open to mystery and uncertainty these days; I'm able to embrace more ambiguity. My questions are rarely true or false, but multiple choice. I believe more ardently now than ever before, but in fewer and fewer things.

There are things I believe with all my heart - the Apostles' Creed wraps up most of them - but other, more remote aspects of theology that once dominated my thoughts don't weigh on my mind any more. G. K. Chesterton said that angels fly because they take themselves lightly. I'm trying to learn how to fly.

The main thing for me now is not to know all the answers, but to know God, made real and personal in Jesus. I pray for David's spirit, his quiet soul. (Psalm 131:2) I find that few things are necessary now, really "only one." (Luke 10:42)

A by-product of this shift is that I no longer have the urge to mold people to my theological presuppositions. I can be more tolerant of those that disagree with me; I can let them be. I also find myself more open to Christians who are not exactly my kind. It's with "all the saints" that we know all the dimensions of God's love, Paul reminds us. (Ephesians 3:18) I can learn from all of them.

Something happened to me some years ago that reinforced my thinking along these lines. I was a student then at the Graduate Theological Union, a consortium of seminaries in Berkeley, California. One of the schools was a seminary in which Jesuit priests are prepared. Though not Roman Catholic, I took most of my classes there.

One winter I enrolled in a tutorial with Dr. John Huesman, a Jesuit priest and ranking Hebrew scholar. I expected to learn from Fr. Huesman, but I learned a good deal more than I expected.

One cold, windy afternoon we were sitting at the kitchen table in his tiny apartment reading Isaiah 53. As I began to read the text, I looked into the good doctor's eyes, saw them glisten and tears begin to flow. He was weeping, not over my translation (which doubtlessly grieved him), but over the text.

"David," I said to myself, "you've read these words many times, but not once have you wept over them. You have much to learn from this man."

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Every man I meet is in some way my superior; in that I can learn from him." This is especially true of those whom God calls His own. I can learn from them, even if they're not exactly my kind.
 

Satan has the intention of detaining us with
unnecessary things and thus keeping us from those
that are necessary. Once he has gained an opening
in you of a handbreadth, he will force in his whole
body together with sacks full of useless questions.
- Martin Luther, Instruction from
The Saints to The Church in Erfurt (1522)


Satan has the intention of detaining us with unnecessary things and thus keeping us from those that are necessary.
PHOTO: Satan has the intention of detaining us with unnecessary things and thus keeping us from those that are necessary. Once he has gained an opening in you of a handbreadth, he will force in his whole body together with sacks full of useless questions. - Martin Luther, Instruction from
The Saints to The Church in Erfurt (1522)
Picture posted by Amosha on 10 January 2011 - SATAN-Demon of WRATH
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAiPbSGyicR_NtnTxkYBvvfQNImMgOmq8BNrE7PWm0HZFBcHiUwrpx2qjlAxeUF90uFtZx7CHn2Xr-PEhJ6FRxm7bZdC1lcOUoIs9yASGe95XGuQHwAZdy3uj7gsZyfavMJFXhL3yDYqI/s800/56aff0bb87bba3c243b1208f221e65e5.jpg
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/56/af/f0/56aff0bb87bba3c243b1208f221e65e5.jpg
https://www.deviantart.com/amosha/art/SATAN-Demon-of-WRATH-192849318
 

I was looking at some of the clever, wonderful unused books on my library shelves the other day and thinking back to a time when, as a much younger man, I envisioned myself spending twenty years or so of my life ramping up my theological knowledge, and then another twenty getting that knowledge organised. The demonstrable, the provable, the definable loomed large in my mind.

As I've gotten older, however, I've learned to be more comfortable with what I don't know and will never know until I get to heaven. Like Israel's poet, I no longer "concern myself with . . . things too wonderful for me." (Psalm 131:1) [161] I find myself more open to mystery and uncertainty these days; I'm able to embrace more ambiguity. [162] My questions are rarely true or false, but multiple choice. I believe more ardently now than ever before, but in fewer and fewer things.


As I've gotten older, however, I've learned to be more comfortable with what I don't know and will never know until I get to heaven.
PHOTO: As I've gotten older, however, I've learned to be more comfortable with what I don't know and will never know until I get to heaven.  I believe more ardently now than ever before, but in fewer and fewer things.
Picture posted by Depositphotos
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhAMe5RkUiSZ8qkWhxCOvXWLpWaUy59UG9WBoMEgP688QyseCuGCN3CQMbQWeHdSxeJe5OzoiyLXZAfKzTVZe-Jmr0P9s9dF8hqmNJOw_MGaep_f2dNfHZvfIaZMaC7ZjjvJMoYWOf2Lw/s1600/depositphotos_390960040_12.png
https://st4.depositphotos.com/37043988/39096/i/1600/depositphotos_390960040-stock-photo-young-girl-reading-a-book.jpg
https://depositphotos.com/search/by-images.html?idList=%5B390960040%2C118428448%2C228487546%2C193944710%2C247309466%2C249877934%2C249888316%2C394877136%2C166562190%2C280346586%2C77410340%2C76582049%2C238466820%2C293060280%2C392244024%2C238531880%2C225889138%2C325581558%2C392719776%2C242570888%2C444515572%2C442337522%2C402048924%2C271248728%2C276740218%2C381105468%2C209043044%2C202751774%2C319969674%2C295703768%2C266435352%2C197215950%2C385880228%2C151304704%2C269356490%2C301231646%2C249868770%2C424691858%2C240188504%2C257035332%2C184021802%2C403432326%2C225889398%2C390849632%2C266429752%2C307210532%2C108663290%2C156914830%2C235469204%2C215194478%2C95785540%2C252881628%2C247513750%2C316086320%2C273238984%2C319386782%2C330169514%2C394658102%2C280386102%2C271895434%5D&mode=image&imageUrl


There are things I believe with all my heart - the Apostles' Creed wraps up most of them - but other, more remote aspects of theology that once dominated my thoughts don't weigh on my mind any more. G. K. Chesterton said that angels fly because they take themselves lightly. I'm trying to learn how to fly.


There are things I believe with all my heart - the Apostles' Creed wraps up most of them - but other, more remote aspects of theology that once dominated my thoughts don't weigh on my mind any more.
PHOTO: There are things I believe with all my heart - the Apostles' Creed wraps up most of them - but other, more remote aspects of theology that once dominated my thoughts don't weigh on my mind any more. G. K. Chesterton said that angels fly because they take themselves lightly. I'm trying to learn how to fly.
Original drawing by Heinrich Hofmann
Picture saved by Оксана Кочерга to Домашние поделки
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj78G6aabu4aIzE-QNagYzCsbfYelVSlC9aFybBo1ege8O2hEeg6Kd0NXfuVF_nXbfkeUmoudhiapg6zLnzS0DiPPt-UeO0WSf3ItnSS8QTtvdZhdgTR5YWE-pK_KwpiE5HC-TVX6CHx-k/s2048/76c420411c94379526dd390358c26770.jpg
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/76/c4/20/76c420411c94379526dd390358c26770.jpg
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/752523418983733873/


The main thing for me now is not to know all the answers, but to know God, made real and personal in Jesus. I pray for David's spirit, his quiet soul. (Psalm 131:2) [163] I find that few things are necessary now, really "only one." (Luke 10:42) [164]


The main thing for me now is not to know all the answers, but to know God, made real and personal in Jesus.
PHOTO: The main thing for me now is not to know all the answers, but to know God, made real and personal in Jesus. I pray for David's spirit, his quiet soul. (Psalm 131:2) I find that few things are necessary now, really "only one." (Luke 10:42)
Original drawing by Heinrich Hofmann
Picture posted by phillipmedhurst in Art, Bible, Gospel, Jesus Christ, Life of Christ, Prints on Thursday, 29 June 2017
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglNJCfGsbeUBUPzxyHwB1aeD4GNqyuJzbc8NQ7KLED5n6CC-xB2ALrH4-ZITCZklVddz71HmfpaRlN1CEEHOEdXf87_jeaTcseKsvqNOYJ-eHkj1WDdM6Kgh-UULwXHeso4g47HazIxMQ/s1099/wp-image-1009292710_1.jpg
https://thebowyerbiblegospels.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/wp-image-1009292710.jpg
https://thebowyerbiblegospels.wordpress.com/2017/06/29/phillip-medhurst-presents-drawings-of-christ-by-heinrich-hofmann-colourised-16-the-ascension-of-jesus/


A by-product of this shift is that I no longer have the urge to mold people to my theological presuppositions. I can be more tolerant of those that disagree with me; I can let them be. [165] I also find myself more open to Christians who are not exactly my kind. It's with "all the saints" that we know all the dimensions of God's love, Paul reminds us. (Ephesians 3:18) [166] I can learn from all of them.


I no longer have the urge to mold people to my theological presuppositions.
PHOTO: I no longer have the urge to mold people to my theological presuppositions. I can be more tolerant of those that disagree with me; I can let them be. I also find myself more open to Christians who are not exactly my kind. It's with "all the saints" that we know all the dimensions of God's love, Paul reminds us. (Ephesians 3:18) We can learn from all of them.
Picture posted by National Federation of Republican Women on Sunday, 04 April 2021 at 07:00 pm
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQmJ-YjAfbexYWqLeZSCKwN8jEjM4OVPcbpSIwWF6o_w2VRoADJofBuYM60DKDkPLb9UpZ6CTFunRGDSc5CE7cMxo1GaRp_PmKh8HeU0YbExnmeAnnPfk-ApA71tRpNKDRdu24u2mGrlM/s1833/166256453_10158155417871770_6821060469436004942_n.jpg
https://scontent.fsin9-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/166256453_10158155417871770_6821060469436004942_n.jpg?_nc_cat=104&ccb=1-5&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=d9Zr_7Ig9YwAX8OdsK-&_nc_ht=scontent.fsin9-1.fna&oh=5b3edfb72383d0719b3ab7b1c9b731c3&oe=617F96D6
https://www.facebook.com/142715981769/photos/a.266498451769/10158155417866770


Something happened to me some years ago that reinforced my thinking along these lines. I was a student then at the Graduate Theological Union, a consortium of seminaries in Berkeley, California. One of the schools was a seminary in which Jesuit priests are prepared. Though not Roman Catholic, I took most of my classes there.


Spend time alone, Spiritual enlightenment
PHOTO: Spend time alone, Spiritual enlightenment
Picture posted by mensagenscomamor.com
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm9YN9TLCW8GerV4z_-aDfeStlZt_qEz0DTf2hWUHK89OScaTY8egt2gEhVDGzjq5g1h15fsojtb6Vg8zY-lo6qCLrAF2imYPNMF6xJ3a25tKZKfveUl9pHart0tFWVoKr0-yfduYz6OM/s2048/p000020460.jpg
https://cdn.mensagenscomamor.com/content/images/p000020460.jpg
https://www.mensagenscomamor.com/livro-de-isaias-22


One winter I enrolled in a tutorial with Dr. John Huesman, a Jesuit priest and ranking Hebrew scholar. I expected to learn from Fr. Huesman, but I learned a good deal more than I expected.

One cold, windy afternoon we were sitting at the kitchen table in his tiny apartment reading Isaiah 53. As I began to read the text, I looked into the good doctor's eyes, saw them glisten and tears begin to flow. He was weeping, not over my translation (which doubtlessly grieved him), but over the text.


Our translation which doubtlessly grieved him but we can learn a good deal more than we expected. We learn from our Creator
PHOTO: Our translation which doubtlessly grieved him but we can learn a good deal more than we expected. We learn from our Creator
Picture posted by iStock (by Getty Images)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMORfhvTlmECH1bLKzD6rnDwGVvnaP96573fO6Bd1s0ODyWnxC31l3HysH_GcnFEWEmnuTPsVE06Mr80UdHqRdYCaKhkfZjl1t_NmcpPWXtVEXeiyqS8_DeLXsrh1c_-sEZ59HZrK5dH0/s2048/gettyimages-481846602-2048x2048_1.png
https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/little-boy-running-to-kneeling-jesus-christ-picture-id481846602?s=2048x2048
https://www.gettyimages.de/detail/foto/little-boy-running-to-kneeling-jesus-christ-lizenzfreies-bild/481846602


"David," I said to myself, "you've read these words many times, but not once have you wept over them. You have much to learn from this man."

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Every man I meet is in some way my superior; in that I can learn from him." This is especially true of those whom God calls His own. I can learn from them, even if they're not exactly my kind.


Ralph Waldo Emerson said,
PHOTO: Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Every man I meet is in some way my superior; in that I can learn from him." This is especially true of those whom God calls His own. I can learn from them, even if they're not exactly my kind.
Picture posted by Getty Images
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW7yoNDWwMzAV76yMWZiZrg46FblHi49hHJLd-k7cQQzu_xZM5BRNLYa16cNLjoNKAx4xLE4UXZ-dcqhzzMEs-P0fY7kZOoHQ5KJK_i2eYq8Xf2nk3t7ObgHZzNyuTqFzzLAb4QqkAZEo/s2048/gettyimages-200244628-006-2048x2048_11.png
https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/crowd-of-women-looking-upwards-portrait-elevated-view-picture-id200244628-006?s=2048x2048
https://www.gettyimages.at/detail/foto/crowd-of-women-looking-upwards-portrait-elevated-lizenzfreies-bild/200244628-006


Dear Lord
Dear Lord
PHOTO: "Dear Lord, we learn from Martin Luther that Satan has the intention of detaining us with unnecessary things and thus keeping us from those that are necessary. Once he has gained an opening in you of a handbreadth, he will force in his whole body together with sacks full of useless questions.

We also learn that angels fly because they take themselves lightly. We’re trying to learn how to fly.

Thank You Lord, for letting realise that the main thing for us now is not to know all the answers, but to know You, made real and personal in Jesus. We pray for David's spirit, his quiet soul. Few things are necessary now, really ‘only one.’

Lord, we pray that we no longer have the urge to mould people to our theological presuppositions. May we be more tolerant of those that disagree with us; and we can let them be. May we be more open to Christians who are not exactly our kind. It's with "all the saints" that we know all the dimensions of Your love, as Paul reminds us. And we can learn from all of them.

May every man we meet is in some way our superior; in that we can learn from him, especially those whom You calls Your own. May we learn from them, even if they're not exactly our kind.

Through Lord Jesus Christ we pray. Amen!"
Artwork by Heinrich Hofmann - The temptation of jesus (Luke 4:1-13)
Picture posted by phillipmedhurst on Thursday, 15 June 2017 - Art, Bible, Gospel, Jesus Christ, Life of Christ
gif file generated by Animated Images Effects Generator at http://www.webestools.com/animated-images-effect-generator-effects-gif-images-picture-blog-gif-fx-images-animated-effect.html
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilT4f3lg1Rbh1muy_DldjOuzYhQPcczWNR0Kp86YJImqD9YIYTojb64mXC7QKQC5rtZlPkSPGCCpgUqb9MA5QFURUhZD-T2fuegQBP9zHrkqEzxlR9jeo9YAWs0Hb34VTUGF5-QifiiEQ/s1600/weiche-von-mir-satan.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh23DuJm-JdrtzrBDZ1ZutZulMnJR97Pr6l5UiwC-aQkqJvLbNr-DeUPnIaQgLE6u5-XyFDgMF67ktWIaKlg0vaMB68u4urg-BE78JT6XWN1UZOkYQzK-94Kq25ER-UNCKwUXioX1GpeCE/s1600/weiche-von-mir-satan.gif
https://thebowyerbiblegospels.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/03-heinrich-hofmann-weiche-von-mir-satan-kommet-zu-mir-bild-4-original-drawing-in-pencil-luke-4_1-13.jpg - (weiche-von-mir-satan.jpg)
https://thebowyerbiblegospels.wordpress.com/2017/06/15/phillip-medhurst-presents-drawings-of-christ-by-heinrich-hofmann-colourised-03-the-temptation-of-jesus/
https://www.google.com.sg/imgres?imgurl=https://thebowyerbiblegospels.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/03-heinrich-hofmann-weiche-von-mir-satan-kommet-zu-mir-bild-4-original-drawing-in-pencil-luke-4_1-13.jpg&imgrefurl=https://thebowyerbiblegospels.wordpress.com/category/prints/page/21/&h=1097&w=796&tbnid=WPzPa86dnL3EtM&tbnh=264&tbnw=191&usg=K_0qumez6mb6jfDSGsHcvw-oE5L-s=&hl=en-SG&docid=lcxiaQOA2oIvpM
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2019/12/reflection-joy-to-world.html
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2020/07/reflection-spiritual-journey-keep-our.html

Reflection - Number Our Days - Things I Do Not Know
Source (book): "Teach Us to Number Our Days", Chapter 32, "Things I Do Not Know", Page 153.
By David Roper, Pastor, and regular and popular writer for Our Daily Bread.


Other Books

"Faithful to the end", A Preacher's Exposition of 2 Timothy, @ 2014 by Robert M. Solomon

'Faithful to the end', A Preacher's Exposition of 2 Timothy, @ 2014 by Robert M. Solomon<br>
Reflection - Faithful to the end (Links)
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2017/06/reflection-faithful-to-end-links.html


"Finding rest for the soul" Responding to Jesus' Invitation in Matthew 11:28-29, © 2016 by Robert M. Solomon

Reflection - Finding rest for the soul (Links)
Reflection - Finding rest for the soul (Links)
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2018/10/reflection-finding-rest-for-soul-links.html


"God in Pursuit" Lessons from the Book of Jonah, © 2016 by Robert M. Solomon

'Reflection - God in Pursuit (Links) - PART I-III, posted on Saturday, 10 August 2019
Reflection - God in Pursuit (Links) - PART I-III, posted on Saturday, 10 August 2019
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2019/08/reflection-god-in-pursuit-links-part-i.html


"God in Pursuit" Lessons from the Book of Jonah, © 2016 by Robert M. Solomon

'Reflection - God in Pursuit (Links) - PART IV, posted on Saturday, 10 August 2019
Reflection - God in Pursuit (Links) - PART IV, posted on Saturday, 10 August 2019
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2019/08/reflection-god-in-pursuit-links-part-iv.html 


"Songs of Christmas", The Stories and Significance of 20 Well-Loved Carols, © 2018 by Robert M. Solomon

Reflection - Songs of Christmas (Links), posted on Friday, 24 April 2020
Reflection - Songs of Christmas (Links), posted on Friday, 24 April 2020
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2020/04/reflection-songs-of-christmas-links.html
 

"Growing Old Gracefully", Following Jesus to the End, © 2019 by Robert M. Solomon

Reflection - Growing Old Gracefully, Part I - III (Links), posted on Wednesday, 09 December 2020
Reflection - Growing Old Gracefully, Part I - III (Links), posted on Wednesday, 09 December 2020
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2020/12/reflection-growing-old-gracefully-part.html
 

Reflection - Growing Old Gracefully, Part IV - V (Links), posted on Thursday, 22 April 2021
Reflection - Growing Old Gracefully, Part IV - V (Links), posted on Thursday, 22 April 2021
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2020/12/reflection-growing-old-gracefully-part_9.html



Reference
[1] From "Teach Us to Number Our Days", Copyright © 2008 by David Roper, ISBN 978-981-11-7184-0, Chapter 32, "Things I Do Not Know", Page 153-155.

[161] Psalm 131:1. The Hebrew word translated "wonderful" means "transcendent," and "includes the recognition of the limits of one's own power to conceptualize and comprehend." See Jenni and Westerman, Theological Lexion of the Old Testament (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1997).

[162] The church father, Ireneaus, pointed out that the chief difference between orthodoxy and heresay is that orthodoxy is rooted in paradox and mystery while heresay is usually rooted in clarity and precision.
[165] I'm using "tolerance" here in its original meaning of "forbearance." Today, "tolerance" has a whole new set of meanings. It means, among other things, that we must tolerate every action or belief no matter how absurd or obscene it may be. We cannot be principled, nor can we have informed moral convictions these days. To do so is to be declared "intolerant," out of touch, phobic and above all, mean-spirited.
New International Version (NIV), Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
at